Forever home

sst1234

I am looking to buy that forever home that some people buy as their 2nd 3rd move. Mostly because we as a family need the space. Not feeling brave enough to go for a bigger mortgage or buy a more expensive property given the economic uncertainty. So for inspiration and experience share, anyone willing to share how much they spent on that forever home and how big a monthly mortgage repayment as a % of salary they were prepared to go up to.

zagubov

Are you in London or a less-f***ed-up housing market? In London, it'll eat up a mahoosive chunk of your income to buy the sardine tin you'll have to brainwash yourself to believe is the best you can get.

Davesnave

I take a 'forever home' to be somewhere one stays for maybe 20+ years, in which case our previous house was that. Our mortgage was quite small, thanks to massive inflation and house price rises during 10 years of owning our first house, which sold for x6 what we bought it for.

We only jumped up the ladder a very modest amount, then extended, so we had second mortgage later on, but I don't remember any figures now. We paid it all off when I retired at 57 with a half-decent pension.

Now we're in our next 'forever house,' because needs change. We would have been very bored in our old home, so we bought a place with land that needed serious renovation, reasoning that land keeps its value and a properly updated house should see us out and be cheap to run. The reality is that owning land is not profitable and we only finished the renovation by the skin of our teeth, but we're solvent and the house is comfortable/energy efficient. We spent about 95% of what we had. You can't take it with you!

The most important point I take from our experience is that there have always been times of economic/political uncertainty and no one can consistently predict what will happen in the future.

moneyistooshorttomention

Personally, I would regard a "forever home" as one that one never had any intention of moving from - even if a Lottery/premium bond win came up and the choice was therefore available to move.

I was in my starter house, in the event, for over 20 years - but it was a starter house at the outset and remained a starter house in my mind throughout my time there (but I just got stuck there for way longer than per plan - because of financial factors that meant I couldnt move within the first 5 years). There was no way to change the factors that made it a "starter" - terrace/too small a kitchen/a "courtyard garden"/area not nice enough.

To me - it's more the style of a home that makes it a "forever home" - ie detached/reasonable garden/reasonable area and with the level of convenience (or otherwise) one has decided on. There's always the "joker in the pack" card of nfh moving in nearby and showing no signs of moving on and/or some developer deciding to build on that "nice green space" nearby that's part of what you chose the home for that might muck things up subsequently.

Probably most of us aren't in our "forever home"?? My house is now detached/garden/reasonable area (notice I didn't mention the convenience factor:rotfl:) - so I anticipate staying here for rest of life - but it's actually not "forever home" and, if that Lottery win/premium bond win came up = it will be on the market for sale or kept as a holiday home.

Hope that helps with clarifying what would actually make a house a "forever home" or whether what you are aiming for would be a "best you can get" home (but it still wouldn't be a "forever home").

If you can manage to get a genuine "forever home" - ie all factors are correct and you'd still keep it/live in it if the Lottery/premium bonds came up = then put everything going into getting it.

If it would be a "best you can get" home = be more cautious and protect your security as best you can.

mjdh1957

My last home was my forever home. Until it no longer was.

Then I was bereaved, and the country went mad and voted for Brexit so I left.

Now my current home is my forever home. Until it isn't.

You never know what is around the corner.

Circumstances change

bigisi

Does anybody else cringe when they hear the term "forever home".

Yet another Americanism worming it's way in to our language thanks to the great unwashed.

Davesnave

bigisi wrote: »

Does anybody else cringe when they hear the term "forever home".

Yet another Americanism worming it's way in to our language thanks to the great unwashed.

I don't like it, or believe in it, which is why I defined it as a long term home.

Despite disliking the term, I have no awareness that it originated in the USA, or that it's in any way linked to personal hygiene.

Perhaps you would care to enlighten us?

suki1964

Well I went starter to forever in one jump but the forever isn't really forever as it will get too big as I get older then I will downsize to starter home again

However I moved 500 miles from London to become mortgage free in my forever home because no way was I saddling ourselves with 1/2 a million quids worth of debt in our mid 40s

hazyjo

I've just bought my 8th and know it won't be forever (unless I keel over).


How old are you? Why 'forever home'? Why not be open to moving again in 5-10 years if you know the house is going to be a compromise?


If you're not spending more, is it a sideways move? Bit pointless unless you're improving on the area. You'd prob be better off waiting a few years or doing some extending where you currently are (unless maybe in a flat or something).

bouicca21

My first house was my forever home because I could not envisage ever having enough money to move on. My next was my forever home because I could not envisage my husband's mid life crisis that would lead to divorce. My current home is forever because I'm too old to want to go anywhere else unless I'm forced into a nursing home.

People change. The world changes. What we want, what we need and what we can afford changes. Here endeth the lesson.

Slinky

My current house would have been my forever home had I not met my OH. I moved away to be with him but kept the house, we then ended up moving into it and extending it when his work brought us back to the area.

However the tide of new houses is coming in our direction and the village I grew up in will be swallowed up soon, so we've decided we'll be moving in the next couple of years, much nearer to the coast in a very pleasant market town. We've bought a house we hope we will be able to future-proof as it has an option for a downstairs bedroom should we not be able to make the stairs in the future. This is intended to be our 'forever' home, however that hasn't stopped me researching and there are warden controlled flats available very nearby should either of us be bereaved and find the house too much anymore.

If I had not met my OH and been single all my life, I doubt I would be contemplating the move we will be making, and my current home in it's original format would have seen me out.